Mumbai GPO, the Largest Post Office in India

This impressive building of the Mumbai General Post Office is just a few steps away from the grand CST Station.  It’s difficult to get a decent shot since the trees are blocking the front view of the building.  Speaking of trees, one of the several things that truly impressed me about Mumbai is its greenery.  There are LOTS of trees everywhere.  Old trees.

Anyway, so we went on a Monday.  Though it was a holiday, since the Hindus were celebrating the festival of lights, the post office was open, most probably for last minute mailing of greeting cards.

It was designed by British architect John Begg in 1902.  Construction began on September 1, 1904.  It was completed on March 13, 1913 at a cost of Rs. 1,809,000.

This building is an example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, representing a synthesis of Muslim designs and Indian materials.  Black basalt, with a dressing of yellow Kurla stone and white stones from Dhrangdra are the predominant materials used.

The interiors are equally impressive, but both Masood and I hesitated to take photographs.  There is a massive dome at the center, and I noticed several paintings of rulers hanging on the walls. There is also a small exhibit of old stamps and letters.

While we were busy taking photographs just outside the post office, I young boy – around 5 years old – approached us.  He had unkempt hair and wore old clothes.  He looked at us with his huge, innocently pleading eyes, and said, ‘Photo.’  We just smiled and started walking away, when I told Masood that we should probably take his picture;  it’ll make the child happy.  I was sure he was fascinated by the camera we were holding.  Either that, or he loved having his picture taken.

So we turned and walked towards the boy.  The moment he saw us, he came running, with this broad smile on his face.  And I was like, ‘Awww!’  But the moment Masood pointed the camera at him and started to focus, we heard a woman’s voice (who had been sitting nearby but we barely noticed a while ago) say something like, ‘Paisey do.’  Give money.

I grabbed Masood’s arm, and we left.  Why should we pay her for taking the picture of her son that we didn’t need or want?  All we had intended to do was make a child happy, yet this had all been a way of getting money from tourists.

So sad.

But the GPO building is truly impressive.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

Railway stations were the most prominent entry points, and cemented the gap between the rural and urban districts that enabled the British Raj to concretize their regime in India. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, then known as the Victoria Terminus, was one of the grandest and considered the queen of all railway stations in India.

In 1887, the station was aptly named as ‘Victoria Terminus’ under the British reign. This was done to commemorate the Jubilee Day celebrations of the sovereign, Queen Victoria. At a cost of INR 1.614 million, the construction started in 1878 and took ten years to complete. The station was opened to the public on New Year’s Day in 1882.

The building in its grandeur served many purposes. Apart from housing railway functionaries – the likes of accounts, chief engineer, and traffic manager – it also served as a government stronghold and housed other municipal offices such as the superintendent of the police.

Built in local sandstone, the style is a combination of the then popular English Venetian Gothic styles endorsed with elements of Indian architecture. The central dome bears a thirteen feet solid figurine personifying ‘Progress’, with its arms raised towards the sky on the south-western part of the building. This follows the unique Bombay style of architecture, an emerging trend during the days of the Raj when British architects worked with Indian craftsmen.

The Victoria Terminus was renamed the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on March 4, 1999 to honor the bravest of brave warrior son of the soil, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

It was a stance taken by the then local municipal offices to do away with anglicized names and give an Indian identity to public landmarks and streets. Despite being renamed, the station is still referred to as “VT” station by hardcore habitants of Mumbai.

Haji Ali Dargah: A 500-year-old Tomb

Located on an islet off the coast of Worli in the southern part of the city is one of the most recognizable landmarks of Mumbai:  the Haji Ali dargah.  The structure below consists of a mosque and a tomb, built some 500 years ago.

Shirk is rampant, unfortunately.  It is a common belief among people that if one pray’s at this durgah, his/her wishes are fulfilled.  On Thursdays and Fridays the shrine is visited by thousands of people,  irrespective of faith and religion to get the “blessings” of Haji Ali.

We didn’t go into the dargah.  The place where I took the picture above is as far as we went.  At the entrance along the main road (next to a police station), was a security check.  We passed through a metal detector and had our bags checked.

Past the security personnel, we found ourselves surrounded by men and women selling flowers and green/red blankets (for offerings in the dargah), copies of Qur’an, tasbih beads, perfumes, sun glasses, key chains, religious books, and cassettes/DVDs of songs on Haji Ali (which, frankly speaking, sounded very filmy and ridiculous).

There were also a couple of men who offered to write our names on a grain of rice.  And of course, there were also beggars.

Who is Haji Ali?

His name is Ali Shah Bukhari, a rich Muslim merchant from the ancient Persian Empire (now Uzbekistan), who gave up all his worldly possessions before making a pilgrimage to Mecca.

He traveled around the world in the early 1400s,  eventually settling in Mumbai where had this mosque built.

Some legends about the man:

# 1: That he drowned in the sea and his devotees built a tomb at the spot where he died.

# 2: That he once saw a poor woman crying on the road, holding an empty vessel. He asked her what the problem was. She sobbed that that her husband would thrash her since she had stumbled and accidentally spilled the oil she was carrying. He asked her to take him to the spot where she lost the oil. There, he jabbed a finger into the soil and the oil gushed out. The overjoyed woman filled up the vessel and went home. Later, he had a recurring – and disturbing – dream that he had injured Mother Earth by his act. Full of remorse, he soon fell ill and directed his followers to cast the coffin carrying his body into the Arabian Sea.

# 3: That he died on his pilgrimage to Mecca and his body was put in a casket. The casket is said to have floated back to Bombay, stopping near the rock bed on the sea here. The place where his casket was found later served as the venue of his dargah (tomb), built by his devotees.

Source

Remember:

“Verily, Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners (in worship) with Him, but He forgives whom He wills, sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, has indeed strayed far away”  [al-Nisa’ 4:116]

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

Built in 1903 – twenty years before the Gateway of India was build – the Taj Mahal Place Hotel in Mumbai is an architectural marvel and brings together Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles.   It has been home to the Royalty, heads of states, tycoons, captains of industry, corporate nomads and jet-setters since then.

This hotel became even more famous worldwide after the unfortunate event that took place in November 2008, when it was attacked by a group of terrorists, where 183 people had been killed.

The Burj Dubai

Each time I look out of my bedroom window on the 9th floor, I see a marvel in the making – the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower). It is not simply just the world’s tallest building, it is an icon. It is a symbol of a new middle east – prosperous and dynamic.

Construction began on September 21, 2004.

The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about USD 4.1 billion.

The price of office space at Burj Dubai had reached $4,000 per sq ft. The Armani Residences, also in Burj Dubai, are selling for $3,500 per sq ft.

On April 7, 2008, Emaar contractors announces that Burj Dubai, at 629 m (2,064 ft), has surpassed the KVLY-TV Mast to become the current tallest man-made structure on earth.

Burj Dubai would also have as addition, a massive Dh 800 million (US $ 217 m) new fountain, 275 meters long and will shoot water 150 meters (or 50 floors) into the air, in a show with music and 6,600 lights with 50 colored projectors.

The fountain is supposed look like this when it’s done…

Engineers working on the Burj Dubai design considered installing triple-decker elevators, which would have been the first in the world. The realized building will use double-decker elevators.

The highest residential floor will be level 109.

An observation deck will occupy the 124th floor.

The official height has not been released, and remains secret. The total height of 808 meters is subject to change.

ARMANI AT THE BURJ

The first Armani brand hotel is expected to be opened by the first quarter of 2009 and is under construction as part of the Burj Dubai development.

It will include 175 guest rooms and suites, five restaurants and a spa, covering more than 40,000m². A

Alongside the hotel, the Burj Dubai will also offer 160 luxury residential apartments all designed by Giorgio Armani and fully furnished with a specially designed line of products from the Armani Casa home furnishings collection.

Dubai is, once again, taking luxury living to the next level.

Source for facts and figure: Emaar